Eight civilians wounded, 2 killed in shelling

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 23 October 2001, 13:46 GMT]
Eight civilians, including an infant, were wounded and two were killed in shelling by the Special Task Force, an elite arm of the Sri Lankan security forces, on the villages of Ambilaanthurai and Thumbankerni, south west of Batticaloa town Tuesday.

The two villages were shelled while the STF was on a special limited operation into the LTTE held areas of Palugamam and Porathivu.

The operation began around 3.30 a.m. on two fronts and was called off by noon Tuesday, sources said.

The wounded were taken to the Kaluwanchikudi hospital and then transferred to the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital. Two women, an eight-month-old girl and five men were wounded.

Two farmers, Sathasivam Kamalanathan, 41, and Thambimuttu Manmuniyaan, 37, were killed while returning from their paddy fields near Ambilaanthurai. Their bodies were blown to pieces, relatives said.

The wounded are:

1. K. Sivanesarajah, 52 of Thumbankerni

2. S. Pathmanathan, 25, Ambilaanthurai

3. K. Seevaratnam, 38, Ambilaanthurai

4. A. Punitharajan, 13, Ambilaanthurai

5. S. Gajan, 05, Thumbankerni

6. Kamaleswari, 30, Thumbankerni

7. Sivalingam Parameswari, 20, Ambilaanthurai

8. Sathasivam Vayatha, eight months, Ambilaanthurai.